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‘Muppets’ stars visit Lexington, 1985
“Muppet” stars Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog enjoyed a carriage ride down Main Street in downtown Lexington on March 14, 1985. Their ride ended at Rupp Arena, where The Muppet Show was on stage five...
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Tates Creek High School graduation, 1986
Tates Creek High School seniors listened to the school choir during commencement ceremonies on June 5, 1986, in Rupp Arena. This year’s Tates Creek High School graduation will be at 7 p.m. Friday in...
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Mason County’s Chris Lofton, 2003
Under a cloud of confetti, Mason County guard Chris Lofton showed the Rupp Arena crowd who was number one after the Royals beat Ballard in the finals of the Boys’ Sweet Sixteen basketball tournament on...
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Waiting for Tina Turner tickets, 1985
Rock ‘n’ roll fans made themselves comfortable outside the Lexington Center ticket office on Aug. 1, 1985, as they prepared to spend the night to would be in line when Tina Turner’s concert tickets...
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Waiting to buy Elvis tickets, 1977
Several thousand fans waited in line on July 31, 1977, along High Street and down Patterson Street beside Rupp Arena to buy tickets to Elvis Presley’s concert, scheduled for Aug. 23. Many fans began...
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Big Bertha gets a cleaning, 1985
Lexington Center employee Craig King held the ladder for Bob Stoops as he checked the speakers on Big Bertha on March 18, 1985. The speaker cluster had been lowered to the Rupp Arena floor for a...
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Adolph Rupp at Lawrence Welk concert in Rupp Arena, 1976
The first concert in Rupp Arena featured Lawrence Welk and his orchestra and was attended by Adolph Rupp, the legendary former basketball coach, and his family. Welk, then 73, had been friends with...
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ATM introduced at Central Kentucky Expo, 1976
The first event held at the new Lexington Center in October 1976 was the Central Kentucky Expo, which featured industries and businesses of the area and included tours of the center and Rupp Arena. The...
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Michael Jordan at Rupp Arena, 1991
University of Kentucky Athletics Director C.M. Newton talked with NBA star Michael Jordan in Rupp Arena after the Chicago Bulls’ practice before their exhibition game on Oct. 15, 1991. A crowd of...
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Lawrence Welk, first concert in Rupp Arena, 1976
The first concert in Rupp Arena featured Lawrence Welk and his orchestra and was attended by about 20,000 fans on Oct. 17, 1976, a Sunday afternoon. Adolph Rupp, the legendary basketball coach, and his...
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Lafayette wins Boys’ Sweet Sixteen, 1979
The Lafayette Generals basketball team celebrated after winning the Boys’ Sweet Sixteen championship on March 17, 1979, in Rupp Arena. Dirk Minniefield, who was named Mr. Basketball that year, is front...
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San Diego Chicken and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, 1983
The San Diego Chicken with wrestler Jerry “The King” Lawler before the A.W.A Southern Heavyweight Championship match on Oct. 6, 1983, at Rupp Arena. Tickets were $7 for ringside seats and$6 for general...
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First Kentucky basketball game in Rupp Arena, 1976
The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team made its move into Rupp Arena on Nov. 27, 1976, playing against the University of Wisconsin and ending more than two decades of play in historic...
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Downtown pedway construction, 1993
Workers placed one of the last beams supporting a walkway leading from the second floors of Victorian Square to the Lexington Center on July 17, 1993. Parts of Main and Vine streets were closed during...
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First Kentucky-Arkansas SEC game, 1992
University of Kentucky forward Gimel Martinez put up a shot over Arkansas center Oliver Miller during the Razorbacks’ 105-88 win over the Cats on Jan. 25, 1992, at Rupp Arena. The long-awaited showdown...
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First Rupp Arena seating chart, 1976
The first seating chart for University of Kentucky basketball games when Rupp Arena opened in the Lexington Center in 1976. The shaded A, B and C areas were designated for Blue and White Fund...
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Kentucky’s Sam Bowie and Auburn’s Charles Barkley, 1984
Kentucky’s Sam Bowie and Auburn’s Charles Barkley battled for position in a basketball game played Feb. 11, 1984, at Rupp Arena in Lexington. No. 6 UK won, 84-64, even though 7-foot-1 Bowie scored only...
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Navy’s David Robinson in record-breaking Rupp game, 1987
Navy’s David Robinson blocked a shot by Kentucky’s Rob Lock on Jan. 25, 1987, at Rupp Arena. Robinson finished the game with 45 points and 10 blocks, both Rupp Arena records. He also had 14 rebounds,...
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Brent Musburger arrives in Lexington for NCAA Final Four, 1985
Sportscaster Brent Musburger, center, waited for his luggage on March 27, 1985, after arriving at Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport for the NCAA Final Four at Rupp Arena. The lead voice for CBS Sports was...
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Ryan Pitino, 4-year-old ball boy, 1995
Ryan Pitino, Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino’s 4-year-old son, was put to work during the UK-Georgia basketball game on Jan. 14, 1995, helping keep the Rupp Arena floor dry for the perspiring likes of...
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